Going Public - GPS Declassified: From Smart Bombs to Smartphones - page 101

Fig. 6.7. Trimpack gps receiver by Trimble. (Courtesy U.S. Army Heritage Museum)
ter, or navcen, located in Alexandria, Virginia. That year the gps program
successfully launched five Block ii satellites into orbit.
As the 1980s ended, fifteen gps satellites were in orbit, but the constellation
was several years from being complete and declared operational by the Pen-
tagon. Civilian gps use was increasing, although it was confined largely to
specialized tasks due to the size and cost of receivers and the gaps remaining
in coverage. The terms Global Positioning System and gps remained far from
household words. It would not be long, however, before gps got a highly vis-
ible public demonstration—a debut with fireworks: the Persian Gulf War.